Welcome back
by AnoBaka
Summary: After Sasuke had left the village, life still goes on. This time, someone special is coming back. A little Kakashi x OC story.
1. Memories of Misery

_Update: I re-edited the whole thing since I thought it would be better to get the script-like dialogue out as someone suggested :). Please gimme some more reviews so I can improve my work. Thanks!!_

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It wasn't long since Sasuke had ran away from the village to Orochimaru, leaving Sakura and Naruto behind. But then again, life still goes on even without your friend. Naruto knows this and trains hard, hoping that one day Sasuke would come back to the village.

**CHAPTER 1 – Memories of misery**

_It was raining. The clouds covered every single bit of the sky, leaving no trace of the sun visible. Two Konoha shinobis jumped from one branch to another. They moved swiftly through the woods without making much sound. Suddenly, the male shinobi raised his hand and signaled his partner to stop. His partner, a female kunoichi stopped a few branches behind him. They stayed silent for awhile before the male shinobi told her to start moving again._

_Drip, drop, drip, drop…._

_The Konoha shinobis sailed through the woods. Suddenly, a few kunais and shurikens flew towards where they were. The male shinobi dodged them and landed behind a bush. "An ambush?" He thought. The kunoichi joined him and accessed the situation. They stared at the place where the weapons came from. "Nothing…?" The shinobi focused harder and scanned the damp area in front of them._

_Suddenly, a ninja dressed in full black clothing attacked them from behind. The male shinobi jumped backwards into the opening. "Shit!"_

_Kunais and shurikens shot at him in every direction. There was too many for him to dodge all of them. The ninja who previously attacked him threw him a mysterious object. It was very much a glass ball. Inside it, the shinobi spotted, was an explosive tag. The ninja formed a seal with his hands, "Its over… Konoha shinobi!"_

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Kakashi's eyes shot wide open. He waited until his eyes focused on the ceiling of his apartment. He slowly wiped the sweat off his forehead with his hand. "A dream…?" The images were still very clear in his mind.

Kakashi closed his eyes.

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Tsunade tapped her heels as she waited impatiently in her office. "Shizune! Is Kakashi not here yet?"

"It seems that way…" Shizune answered as she helped tidy away some documents on the desk.

Tsunade grunted. "How long is he going to make me wait for him?" She shuffled the documents lying in front of her and handed them to Shizune. She sat back in her chair.

There was a knock on the door, Tsunade looked up, "Come in!"

Kakashi peeked into the room, not surprised to find a rather annoyed-looking Hokage. He stepped into the room with his hand on the back of his head. "Good morning, Tsunade-sama. Well you see… a black cat crossed my path so…"

"Cut the excuses. Here's the mission for your team." Tsunade handed Kakashi a document. Kakashi opened it and read it. Tsunade carried on explaining as Kakashi's eyes scanned through the document. "Asuma's team is also going to join you with that mission."

"Protecting the priestess of the water country? Isn't that a little too hard for genins to handle?" Kakashi's eyes didn't leave the document.

"Well that's why we have two jounins accompanying them. Besides, your team has experience with escorting, right? And I thought you have already met up with the priestess before?" Tsunade was a little impatient.

Kakashi scratched his head. "That's right, but-"

"So there won't be a problem. Hurry to the gates, you are to join the priestess once she enters the borders of the fire country."

"What about before she reaches the borders?"

Tsunade took a sip of tea from her cup. "She has a couple of body guards traveling with her. Anyways, we have to make sure that she doesn't get hurt on the way, especially once she has entered our borders."

"Understood." Kakashi put away the document regarding the details of his mission.

"It is rare for a foreign priestess to pay us a visit, make sure you guys protect her well!"

"Yes!" The jounin exited the room. Shizune poured some tea back into Tsunade's cup.

"Tsunade-sama, are you sure about this?"

"Sure about what?" Tsunade looked at her assistant.

"About your choice of teams. After all, the water country is where she came from…" She trailed off.

"He should be fine. He should've let it pass already, it's been three years since that happened." Tsunade slid her hand through her hair.

"You might be right…" With that, Shizune still looked a little worried, but if it was Tsunade's choice, she went with it.

Kakashi walked down the streets with his signature book- Icha Icha Paradise, covering his face. "The water country… Three years already passed since that incident if I remember correctly…"

"Kakashi-sensei!!!"

Kakashi looked up from his book. Naruto and Sakura were standing at the gates of the village, with team 10 just beside them. "Kakashi-sensei!!! You're late!!!"

"Oh… well, this old lady needed help while carrying her luggage so…"

"Yeah right." Sakura eyed Kakashi, who was slowly walking towards them with a smile. Kakashi sweat-dropped. Sakura and Naruto continued complaining on the fact that Kakashi was late. Asuma took out another cigarette and started smoking.

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru yawned as he leaned against the gates of Konoha.

"Well calm down… the priestess wants our protection once she enters the fire country, we should hurry up." Kakashi was trying to calm his own group of genin down.

"Hmph. Then you should've arrived earlier, Kakashi-sensei." Naruto pointed his finger at Kakashi, who just stood there innocently. Kakashi sweat-dropped again. The team finally headed out towards where the priestess told them that she was going to enter the fire country from. They arrived a lot earlier than the priestess, so they decided to rest there for the night.

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Kakashi and Asuma's team head out for a mission to protect the priestess coming from the water country. Tune in for the next chapter!!

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Author's Notes: Okay my second Naruto fanfic :D... this story somehow relates to my first story, New Friend. So if you don't understand what's going on you can always go back and read it :). Once again, thanks for reading and please gimme reviews 8D!!


	2. Dream

**CHAPTER 2 – Dream**

_Weapons surrounded the shinobi. It didn't take long to figure out that it was impossible to dodge all of them. In the distance, another black-clothed ninja stared with a huge grin on his face. He threw something like a crystal ball towards the trapped shinobi, inside was an explosive tag. The black-clothed ninja formed a seal with his hands. The explosive tag exploded inside the crystal ball, causing bits and pieces of the crystal flying in all directions. The area was engulfed in flames and black smoke as the weapons flew towards its destination._

_Ninja (thoughts): That Konoha shinobi should be dead by now._

_He grinned and waited for the smoke to clear off. He focused his eyes on where the Konoha shinobi was standing. Nothing was there. The ninja grunted and jumped off the tree branch he was standing on. A few trees behind him stood the female kunoichi. She stood on guard. In front of her, was the male shinobi who she had just saved from the attack. She waited until the enemy had left the scene. The kunoichi's attention focused back on the panting shinobi in front of her. "What was that?"_

"_I don't know." The shinobi panted._

"_I thought you were better than that, Kakashi." The kunoichi eyed him._

_The male shinobi looked up at the blue-haired kunoichi. "I guess I was taken by surprise. Thanks Yuuri."_

_She frowned. "Aren't you supposed to be an ANBU?" She helped Kakashi up, and started treating his wounds. Kakashi smiled. Yuuri returned it with her usual stare. "Well, all I can say that is, now the enemy knows of our presence, it is going to make our mission a hell lot harder."_

_Kakashi looked at the female kunoichi. "I thought you liked challenges."_

"_Not challenges like this, you idiot." Yuuri frowned as she bandaged Kakashi's arm. "It's only a matter of time before they find us with the help of reinforcements."_

"_So… you're saying that we should just give them a surprise attack?"_

_Yuuri tied the last knot to Kakashi's bandage. "Well… that was what I intended to do… but…" Yuuri stared at Kakashi._

_Kakashi was a little taken back. "I'm fine."_

"_You sure? We've been traveling for two days without stopping, plus that shinobi just gave us an ambush. Kakashi, our senses aren't as sharp as before. In other words, we're tired." She stressed the word "tired" enough for Kakashi to get her point._

"_But… if we miss this chance we might be in an even worse situation."_

_Yuuri gave what Kakashi said a little thought. "Fine. Let's go." The two Konoha shinobis headed out once again into the enemy's territory._

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Kakashi opened his eyes. "These dreams again… I've been having them for quite awhile now…" He groaned as he sat up.

"What's up Kakashi? It's not your turn to watch yet." Kakashi looked up to find Asuma sitting on a tree branch right above his head.

"Asuma… Nothing, just one of those dreams that got me out of my sleep again." Kakashi shoved his blankets out of the way.

"Dreams? Want to talk to me about it?" Asuma gave a smile.

Kakashi stared at Asuma. "Last time I talked to you about something, everyone found out in a matter of days."

Asuma's eyes widened. "So… that's a no?"

"I'm fine. I guess I'll just take over now. Go get some sleep Asuma."

"Well… if you say so." Asuma hopped off the branch and got his things out ready to take a rest. Kakashi packed his own and went onto the branch to take the watch.

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Naruto stretched and yawned as he shuffled out of his blankets. His eyes were half-opened when some ice-cold water was splashed onto his face. "AAAAAAAA!!!! COLD COLD COLD!!!!" Everyone stared at the screaming Naruto.

"This is what you get for waking up late!" Sakura had her hands on her hips, annoyed. In her right hand, held a green cup.

"Sakura-chan!! You didn't have to do that…" Naruto's eyes went from Sakura's face towards to cup she was holding. The thought immediately came to his head; "If Sakura-chan splashed me with her cup, which she drank from… that's mean…" Naruto blushed at the thought that Sakura had given him an indirect kiss. He scooped the remaining water from his face and drank it all.

"Thanks Chouji for the cup!!" Sakura hopped towards Chouji as she returned his cup.

"Chou-Chouji?!" Naruto quickly spat out the water in his mouth. Sakura giggled behind him.

"Baka!! Why would I even splash you with my own cup?" She stuck her tongue out at the choking Naruto.

"This is so troublesome…" Shikamaru said his usual words as he packed his stuff back into his bag.

There was a loud clap. Everyone looked at where the sound came from. "Everyone awake?" Kakashi walked through the crowd of genins.

"Yes, sensei." Beside Sakura, now stood a fully awake Naruto after all that spitting.

"Okay then." Kakashi nodded at Asuma.

Asuma cleared his throat. "Kakashi and I checked the route the priestess said she was going to travel in and we noticed that she has already arrived within the borders of the fire country. We are to escort her to our village safely, understood?"

"Yes!" The group of genins answered.

"Let's get going." Kakashi hopped onto a branch while the other genins got ready and followed him.

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The sun shined brightly on the dry land in front of the group traveling. A person was sitting inside a wooden carriage, the shape resembled an old fashioned Chinese one. The carriage was surrounded by 12 ninjas, each with a Mist ANBU mask except one. The one without the mask was a female kunoichi, who wore a light blue robe with a hood covering most of her face. The ninja leading the group waved a hand for the others to stop.

"What is it?" A voice came from inside the carriage.

The other Mist ANBUs already had their hands on the weapons, ready to draw them if necessary. Suddenly, a white-haired Konoha shinobi landed in front of the group. "Who are you?" The Mist ANBU questioned.

Several more ninjas landed behind the white-haired shinobi. "We're the shinobis that you have requested to escort you to Konoha." The shinobi took out some documents and showed it to the Mist ANBU. The ANBU took it suspiciously and read through it.

"Kaori! What is happening?" A voice came out from inside the carriage again.

The hooded female kunoichi, named Kaori answered. "Yes Rena-sama, a group of Konoha shinobi claimed that they are the ones we requested for your escort to Konoha."

"What are their names?"

Kaori eyed the leading ANBU. "Yes, their names are Hatake Kakashi, Sarutobi Asuma, Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and Yamanaka Ino. Are these names correct, Miko-sama?" The ANBU read out the list of names written on the documents Kakashi had handed him.

The priestess lifted the cloth separating her face with the rest of the shinobis. She slowly stepped out of her carriage and walked towards the group of Konoha shinobis. "Rena-sama, you mustn't-" The female kunoichi named Kaori followed the priestess.

"The names are correct." The priestess took the documents from the lead ANBU and read them. A certain Naruto was peeking behind Kakashi, trying to take a better look at the priestess. She had long straight black hair, snow-white skin. She wore a light pink kimono with small white flower patterns on it. The priestess noticed Naruto and stared at him. "What do you want?"

"Hmm…" Naruto stepped out from behind Kakashi and rubbed his chin. He looked from top to bottom at the priestess.

"How dare you look at Rena-sama like that?" Kaori went forwards drawing her weapon. "I'll teach you-"

"Hmm… Kakashi-sensei, I don't get it." Naruto finally spoke after staring at the priestess for so long.

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Don't get what?"

"Well you see, Ero-sennin said that priestesses were suppose to have great sexy bodies, like… big things…?" Naruto made a little hand sign of what he was trying to say. Obviously, about that "part" where Jiraiya always stares at when he's out looking for women.

The group of Konoha shinobis gasped when they got what Naruto was trying to say. Sakura quickly grabbed Naruto and smacked his head. She held him and forced a smile out of her face. "Ahaha… Miko-sama, please don't take this seriously, this guy's a jerk! Ahaha…"

Sakura's smile faded when she noticed Kaori giving her a death-glare. She swallowed hard. Just when Kaori was about to grab her weapon and kill Naruto for making such a statement of the priestess, a hand was waved in front of her. "Stop it, Kaori." It was the priestess herself. "Let him be, he probably never have seen a real one anyways. It's not unusual that some people make that assumption."

"But… Rena-sama-" The priestess waved her hand for her to stop.

"Let's get going, I want to reach Konoha as soon as possible." The priestess walked back into her carriage.

"Yes!" Kaori followed the priestess.

Sakura was still grabbing Naruto with her arm around his neck. "Sakura-chan… can you let go of me now?"

Sakura faced him with a furious face. "SHANAROOOOUUU!!!! HE ALMOST GOT US ALL KILLED!!" The inner Sakura was about to explode into pieces due to the anger.

"Well, calm down you guys." Kakashi walked over to Sakura and Naruto, only ended up having Sakura shooting him a furious glare. Kakashi sweat-dropped.

Ino stared at Naruto and Sakura, "Naruto is such a pain, he's always causing trouble."

"Thanks to him, the priestess probably hates us now." Shikamaru added.

"Really? She seems quite nice, didn't she let Naruto go just now? He would've been dead meat by now if she didn't." Chouji munched on his chips.

"She probably just did it to look good." Shikamaru yawned.

Asuma frowned. "Well come on guys, we don't have all day, let's go."

The group of Konoha genins followed Asuma's lead and walked, with Sakura dragging Naruto by his collar. Kakashi was last to follow. His mind wandered off back to his dream he had earlier on.

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Why is Kakashi having these weird dreams one after another? Just what are they telling him? Tune in for the next chapter.

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A/N: Second chapter so far :). I've changed my style, taken all the script-like dialogue out of it so still getting used to this style. Again, thanks for reading it and please gimme reviews :D!!


	3. Troubled

**CHAPTER 3 – Troubled**

It was already nighttime, the group traveled slowly in the fire country. According to Kakashi, they were already around two-thirds of the whole way to Konoha, but Kaori insisted on resting for the night before traveling again. The group settled down in the woods. Naruto was unpacking his things and getting ready for sleep, only to be interrupted by Sakura. "What is it now, Sakura-chan?" He almost had tears in his eyes.

"You're not suppose to sleep, we are here to protect the priestess right? So get up!"

Naruto did as he was told and walked towards the priestess' tent with Sakura. Shikamaru, Chouji and Ino were already standing there.

Ino looked tired as Naruto walked towards them. "Naruto!! Don't you dare think of slacking off!!"

"The sky is so clear today…" Shikamaru yawned as he stared up into the dark blue sky.

Sakura was busily hitting Naruto on the head when the priestess stepped out of her tent, followed by her very own bodyguard, Kaori. "Rena-sama, you should stay inside."

"I want to take a walk, I have been sitting all day." The priestess walked on.

"But…" Kaori followed the priestess as she fastened her footsteps. "You shouldn't be so stubborn, Rena-sama. We are all here to protect you, and you are making it harder for us."

The priestess looked back at the worried Kaori, who was desperately trying to convince her to return inside of her tent. "There should be a lake around here, I am just going there for awhile." The priestess took off again.

Kaori knew that once the priestess had made her mind up, no one could change it. "But please let me accompany you to the lake, that way I can ensure your safety."

"Fine." The priestess groaned as she let Kaori accompany her towards the lake nearby.

Sakura and Ino stared at the priestess. "Ino, are you sure we should let them go alone?"

"Just let them be." Shikamaru scratched his head. "That woman is hell strong anyways."

"Who?" Naruto popped up right behind Shikamaru.

"Who… well of course it's her bodyguard. The last thing I know is that priestesses don't engage in fights."

Naruto blinked at Shikamaru's explanation. "But shouldn't we at least tell our senseis just in case?" Sakura stared off into the direction of where the priestess had gone.

"I'll go tell Asuma-sensei!" Ino nodded and ran off.

Sakura was about to do the same when she realized that she hadn't seen Kakashi even since the decided to rest there for the night. "Naruto, have you seen Kakashi-sensei?"

"Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto thought hard. "I didn't see him."

"Hmph, why is it always our sensei who gives us all these troubles?!" Sakura grunted and left the tent.

"Where are you going, Sakura-chan?" Naruto asked as he followed Sakura.

Chouji munched on his chips. "Oi Shikamaru, is it okay if we stay here?"

"Just let them be." Shikamaru sat down on the grass and stared into the sky again. "Such a clear sky…"

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_Two shinobis panting as they sailed through the woods soundlessly, with several ninjas were chasing them from behind. The white-haired shinobi turned around and threw an explosive tag attached to a kunai at his pursuers. It made quite a ruckus when it exploded. "That should slow them down a little." He quickened his pace to catch up with his blue-haired partner._

_Suddenly, she stopped on a branch. The male shinobi looked up and found out what had stopped her, it was a ninja that had attacked them earlier on._

"_Tsk." The female kunoichi hissed under her breath. Soon after, the ninja charged in for a battle._

_Drip, drop, drip, drop…._

_The wet and cold surface of the floor was spilled with warm, red blood. The two Konoha shinobis panted as their opponent finally dropped onto the floor. They slowly caught their breath. The ninja chuckled. The two shinobi focused their attention on the man. "Hahaha, it has been awhile since someone was able to beat me into such a state." The rain dripped off their faces as they listened to the ninja's words. "But… don't think you can just walk away with that."_

_Without warning, he jerked his leg upwards, causing a large knife to swing down and cut a piece of rope. A long and sharp piece of metal to shoot out from the darkness. It was heading directly at the male shinobi._

"_Kakashi!" The blue-haired kunoichi shouted at her partner for him to dodge it. But he was too tired from the battle._

"_Die!" The ninja shouted with a laugh before he suffocated of having too much blood flow into his lungs._

_The female kunoichi ran towards Kakashi. "Make it in time!"_

_Drip, drop, drip, drop…._

_Kakashi slowly opened his eyes, the female kunoichi stood in front of him, arms spread open. She collapsed onto Kakashi. Her chest was impaled with the long and sharp object. Instantly, he knew that she had protected him from that attack. She coughed. "Yuuri! Hold on, I'll get you out of here now!" Kakashi removed the weapon stuck in Yuuri's chest, revealing a wide and deep wound. He quickly bandaged it and carried her away from the scene._

_Yuuri panted as Kakashi carried her away from the enemy's territory. "Funny, isn't it?" Yuuri gave a little laugh._

"_You shouldn't talk in the condition, it'll make the wound worst."_

"_We first met each other properly on a mission 7 years ago, very similar to this one. And now, we part because of it." Yuuri choked._

"_What are you talking about? I'm going to get you out of here, safely." Kakashi hopped from one branch to another._

_Yuuri sighed. "It's only a matter of time when they find you when you're carrying me. Your pace-" Yuuri coughed of blood._

"_Stop talking-"_

"_Your pace would be much quicker if you just went alone. I'm done anyways, just leave me somewhere." Yuuri looked at Kakashi, forcing a smile at him._

_Kakashi held her even tighter. "What are you talking about?"_

"_Are you even supposed to be doing this? I thought it went against the rules of being an ANBU…" Yuuri trailed off as she had trouble breathing._

"_I don't care, some rules are made to be broken." He fastened his pace again._

_They both fell silent. "Let go of me." Yuuri tried to make Kakashi loosen his grip on her._

"_What-"_

"_I said, let go of me." Kakashi jumped down and lay Yuuri down next to a tree. She breathed hard, trying to keep as much oxygen in her as possible. Her lungs were beginning to fail her. "Leave me here and… return to the… village." Yuuri swallowed._

"_I said, we are both going to get back safely to the village." Kakashi emphasized on the word "both"._

"_Stop… making… jokes… you idiot." Yuuri shut her eyes. Kakashi opened his mouth to contradict her, but only to be interrupted by Yuuri's voice again. "You… are one… stubborn fellow… you know? It… doesn't hurt… to follow instructions… once in awhile…" With that, Yuuri took some blood from her chest and began forming seals with her hands._

"_Yuuri, what are you-"_

"_Kuchiyose no jutsu!" She summoned a hawk. "Please, take him back to Konoha."_

_The hawk nodded and grabbed Kakashi with its claws. "Yuuri! Yuuri! What are you doing?" Kakashi shouted at Yuuri, who sat leaning on the tree smiling at him._

"_Thank you for everything, Kakashi… Sayonara…"_

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"Hatake Kakashi." Kakashi turned around to find it was the priestess who called for him. She walked up and sat beside him.

"You sure it's okay for a priestess to sit next to me?" Kakashi raised an eyebrow towards to priestess.

The priestess stared emptily into the water, then at Kakashi. "Why not?"

Kakashi shrugged at the question. "Where's your bodyguard?" The priestess looked backwards, Kakashi followed her gaze. Kaori was standing next to a tree a few metres behind them. "Oh…"

"You look troubled, can I help?"

"Troubled… there are times when shinobis don't want to talk about their troubles to anyone. Besides, I'm not troubled." The shinobi stared a few metres into the water.

The priestess followed his gaze. "One is most troubled when one tries to hide his troubles."

Kakashi stared at the priestess. They stayed silent for a few seconds. "I've been having dreams." The priestess looked at Kakashi waiting for him to continue. "They contain some of my memories from the past, ones that I want to forget."

"Memories are supposed to be remembered, not forgotten." The priestess plucked some grass out of the ground and played with it between her fingers.

Kakashi stared at the priestess. "What if they are painful ones?"

"Painful or not painful, that is not for one to decide. Emotions are a miraculous thing, they can make one strong yet weak at the same time. That is why I thought shinobis obey the rule and kill their emotions." The priestess dropped the piece of grass she was fiddling with. "But shinobis are still human, and humans can never completely kill all their emotions, no matter how hard they try."

"You speak as if you are one yourself." Kakashi chuckled. The priestess gave a little smile and looked up into the sky. A warm breeze blew, and the priestess' hair was taken in the same direction. "Look out!" Kakashi threw his body over the priestess and they were pushed back a few feet. A few kunais landed at the spot where the priestess was sitting a few seconds ago. Kakashi helped the priestess to her feet. "Are you okay?" The priestess nodded.

Kaori quickly rushed towards them, holding out her own weapon. "Rena-sama, please stay behind me." The priestess nodded in response.

"Nii-san, what should we do now? It failed."

"What else? Let's beat the crap out of them."

"Got that." Two shadows were standing a few trees in the distance, one with an evil-looking grin on his face. The battle begins!

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Who are these people sent to assassinate the priestess?? Who would do such a thing? Tune in for the next chapter.

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A/N: Third chapter so far :D a little more dialogue in this one so it might have turned out a little boring. And yeah I know I said this was a "little Kakashi x OC story", and there's NOTHING to it so far... actually it only takes up a very little part of the whole story, so that's why I didn't put it in the Romance category. Thanks again for reading, hope you enjoyed it so far and please gimme reviews!!


	4. The Battle

**CHAPTER 4 – The Battle**

Kakashi and Kaori stood on guard, each drawing out their weapons. Kakashi lifted his forehead protector, revealing the Sharingan in his left eye. "Over there!" He threw his kunai towards a tree a feet away from them once he spotted the enemy. Kaori and the priestess' gaze followed the kunai towards the tree. The instance the kunai made contact with the tree, a several ninja stars flew towards the priestess. Kaori quickly grabbed the priestess by the waist and pulled her away from the danger. Kakashi looked at where he had thrown his kunai. "There shouldn't be a mistake… I'm sure there was chakra there.' How did it end up as a trap…?"

Kaori dodged and slid meters away as ten more kunais flew at them, holding the priestess closely by her side. "Hatake-san, please think before striking again. The priestess' life will be at risk if you make any hasty moves."

Kakashi was annoyed. Of course he didn't mean to put the priestess in danger in any way, but just now, that was an impossible mistake for him to make. Not only did he sense the enemy in the wrong place, he also fell into the enemy's trap and endangered the priestess' life.

The area began fogging up with thick mist, the visibility rapidly decreased as the mist swallowed up the whole lake. Kaori tightened her clench on the sword, slowly stepping back towards the priestess. Kakashi soon lost sight of the two as the mist thickened by each second. "Hidden mist technique…" He focused hard in the mist as a figure appeared in the distance. Kakashi pulled out a kunai. "Enemy clones?" The figure dashed towards Kakashi. "Wait… it's a real person!" He swung up his kunai just in time to block a dagger coming up to his eye.

"Can't use your eye, now can you?" His attacker laughed and backed off into the mist again. Blood dripped from Kakashi's arm. "Why don't we have more fun, Sharingan no Kakashi?"

"Where are you?"

"Over here." Figures began surrounding Kakashi.

Kakashi held his kunai tighter. "This is the same as before, I can see forms of chakra around me, but…"

"If you're not going to strike, I am!"

"What?" Kakashi saw the figures moving with his Sharingan. Suddenly, from one of the figures behind Kakashi, a dagger slashed down. It cut Kakashi from his left shoulder down to his left hip. Kakashi quickly turned around and cut the enemy with his kunai, only finding it to disappear once his kunai came in contact.

He held his cut shoulder, as blood began soaking his hands. "Who are you? What business do you have with the priestess?' Kakashi's eyes scanned the area from one place to another.

The placed filled with evil laughter. "Me? You don't need to know! Besides, you wouldn't even survive to find out." With that, five blue leopards suddenly jumped in from the top with fangs out. Kakashi only had a split second to jump to the side. As he looked back at the five leopards, he noticed that the colour of their bodies were much lighter than the water's colour.

"Futon, Nijuu Saiuron Burasuto!" From the top of the branch behind Kakashi came two huge whirlwinds which tore across the lake straight at Kakashi.

"Shit!" Kakashi swore as he propelled himself to a nearby branch just outside the destructive path of the 2 whirlwinds. "At this rate…"

"Mmmhmmm… Nii-san, am I overdoing it? I thought I could get more out of the legendary white fang's son."

"Don't let your guard down, it is your worse enemy during battle."

"Oh well…"

Forming fast seals with his hands, he puffed out smoke from his mouth. "Dokugiri!" The whole lake was once again engulfed by a dense blanket of fog. This time it was purple.

Kakashi began analyzing the situation he was in. "That fog seems dangerous, I shouldn't get too close to it." He looked over to his wounded shoulder. "This is bad, I need to finish this quickly." Kakashi began forming seals with his hands. "Suiton, Bakusui Shoha!"

Immediately the large volume of water absorbed and cleared away the mist, leaving a direct path in front of Kakashi, revealing a man in his path. "Oh my, you found me. Looks like hide and seek is over."

Kakashi panted. He looked at the ninja in front of him, his eyes moved towards the forehead protector he was wearing. "If I remember correctly, that forehead protector is from the Mist. Why are you attacking your own country's priestess?"

"I have no intentions to tell you." Kakashi glared at him. "Oh right, my bad. Where were all my manners?" The ninja smirked. "Now that you've come so far and survived that combo, I guess telling you wouldn't be so bad after all. I am Suzuki Ukito. My brother is Mashiro."

"I thought you said there was no need for me to know your names." Kakashi hissed at Ukito.

Ukito's eyes widened with excitement. "You should at least remember the name of the person who would mark you down as history!"

Kakashi blocked the dagger striking up towards his face. Another came up after another, Kakashi pulled out his second kunai and blocked each and everyone of them. "What? Already finished?" Ukito laughed as he pulled his left dagger up again, along with his leg kicking Kakashi. He was sent crashing a few metres away from him. Ukito walked up towards Kakashi, who was lying facedown on the ground now. "Nii-san should be down by now."

Kakashi looked up at him. "Done with what?"

"The priestess." Kakashi quickly swung his leg towards Ukito, attempting to knock him down. But he dodged it swiftly and did a few back-flips. "That was dirty, considering that it came from you. But you still can't get me with that." He laughed again.

"Ukito, you done already?" A figure was walking towards the two. As he came closer, his bodily figures came into great detail. He was strongly built, all muscles were huge on his body.

Kakashi noticed that he was carrying someone over his shoulder. To his realization, it was the priestess! He looked over to where he came from, Kaori was lying on the floor, panting hard. "Rena-sama…"

"Damn it, "Damn it, I need Asuma to back me up." Kakashi grunted as he tried to get up.

Ukito looked back at Kakashi. "Still haven't given up, have you? Nii-san-"

"I am going to make this quick." Ukito's brother, Mashiro swung the priestess down from his shoulder. He grabbed her up by the neck and started tightening his clutch. The priestess' small hands held his big fists attempting to make his loosen his grip on her. "It futile Miko-sama, please don't struggle. It'll only make it harder for us."

Kakashi finally stood up, and charged towards the two. Ukito opened his arms wide as if he was welcoming him to attack. The battle continues!

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The priestess is on the verge of death! What can Kakashi and Kaori do to stop them?? Will Asuma and other Konoha shinobis arrive on time to help them??? Tune in for the next chapter.

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**Jutsus in this chapter:**

Futon, Nijuu Saiuron Burasuto:  
Wind release, Double Cyclone Blast

Suiton, Bakusui Shoha:  
Water release, Exploding Water Shockwave

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A/N: -Drum roll- :D Okay, the action is HERE!!! This is my second attempt to write some action, hope I didn't fail too much. And I would like to thank my friend, who helped me write out most of this chapter, while I did the final editing, he deserves TEN CUPS OF ICE CREAM for this 8D!! LOL… okay thanks again for reading my fanfic and please gimme reviews so I can further improve my work!!


	5. Revealed

**CHAPTER 5 – Revealed**

Mashiro tightened his clench on the priestess' neck. Her mouth opened as she started to get out of breath. Kakashi stood up and charged towards them. "Sharingan no Kakashi! I thought you were better than this!" Ukito opened his arms wide as if he was welcoming him to attack. In an instance, Kakashi's body was sliced in half under Ukito's dagger. He looked at himself satisfied. "I guess you couldn't even have felt that one." Ukito smirked.

"Raikiri!"

"What-" Ukito turned around and looked up, only to see Kakashi falling down onto him with a powerful electric surge on his right hand. "I can't make it!" Kakashi jabbed his hand into Ukito's chest. He increased the chakra flowing through his hand, causing the lightning to cut straight through Ukito's chest. Ukito slowly turned his head to what he thought was Kakashi's dead body, which turned out nothing more than smoke now. "Kage… Bunshin?" Ukito grabbed Kakashi's arm where he had punched into his body. He began coughing out blood. "I guess… that's it… for me, eh?"

"Having your guard down is your worst enemy, even your brother told you that, didn't he?" Kakashi jerked him hand free from Ukito's grip.

"UKITOOO!!!!!" It was Mashiro. He watched as his little brother collapse in front of Kakashi. His veins tightened. It wasn't hard to tell that he was furious right now. His eyes shifted from the suffocating priestess in his grip to Kakashi, who backed away a few feet away from him. He dropped the priestess onto the ground. "I'll deal with you later." He turned towards Kakashi. "I'LL KILL YOU!!!"

Kaori could only watched helplessly from her position. She gritted her teeth as Mashiro released the priestess. "Rena…sama…" She crawled slowly towards the priestess, who was lying on the ground without a single movement. She had almost reached the priestess when Mashiro noticed her. He quickly appeared in front of her, blocking her path, and kicked her into a tree far away from where she was originally. The priestess lifted her head slightly as she saw her bodyguard crashing into a tree.

"Where were we?" Mashiro turned towards Kakashi again.

Kakashi held his kunai tight in his hand. "This guy… is a lot stronger than his brother. Judging from his movements, not only he has supernormal strength, but also speed. What a guy…" He looked back at his injured arm. "My speed can't keep up with him since I'm this injured. What should I do?"

"Finished with your analysis yet?" Without warning, Mashiro charged towards Kakashi. Unleashing his big golden axe strapped behind his back. He swung it down at Kakashi.

"Shit! I can't dodge this in time!" Kakashi brought his hands up to block it.

"It's futile! No one could ever block my attack with my golden axe!" Mashiro shouted as his hand came down.

Suddenly, a figure appeared in front of Kakashi. Holding a small knife in hand, it came in contact with Mashiro's huge axe. Kakashi looked at his savior. He gasped when he came to realization that it was the priestess herself. She was pushed back a metres when she stopped Mashiro's axe. At this moment, Mashiro's leg shot up and kicked the priestess towards the side. She crashed around twenty metres away from where they were. Dust was being blown off the ground and into the air, blocking the view of the priestess as she landed.

"RENA-SAMA!!" Kaori shouted in the distance when she saw what had happened. She was surprised that the priestess, who would ask her to open soda cans for her, actually stopped Mashiro's axe. Kakashi felt the same way.

The dust cleared. The priestess was coughing out blood as she laid on the ground, panting. "Such a stupid priestess, I have to say." Mashiro chucked. "Priestesses do not engage in fights, they do not have physical strength whatsoever to do that."

"That is right." Kakashi thought. He stared at the priestess.

Mashiro continued. "You should have just sat there quietly and waited until I have finished with this guy. You could have died a peaceful-"

"Yare yare… I guess I can't fight in this form." The priestess gave a small laugh as she helped herself up. She wiped the blood dripping from the side of her mouth with the sleeve of her kimono.

Mashiro turned around and kicked Kakashi to the side. He grinned as he walked towards the priestess. "So… you want to put up a fight, do you Miko-sama?"

The priestess cupped her hands around the centre of her chest.

"It's useless whatever you try to do!"

She then formed the seal of the tiger with her hands. "Kai!"

"What?" Light began shining from under the priestess' kimono. It was weak at first, but it grew brighter and brighter each second. Until suddenly, the light blasted, blinding Mashiro, Kakashi and Kaori.

-----

-----

Asuma noticed the sudden blast of light. It wasn't hard to spot in the middle of the night. He gathered the remaining genins and went after the direction of where the light came from.

"Asuma-sensei, what is going on?" Ino asked worryingly.

"I don't know. But it can't be good. Let's hurry!"

"Yes!" The group of genin nodded towards him as they quickened their pace through the woods.

-----

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Mashiro shielded his eyes from the bright light coming towards him, Kakashi and Kaori just stared at the priestess, trying hard to keep their eyes open. The light slowly faded out.

"What was that?" Mashiro laughed as he saw the priestess again. "I thought you had something up your sleeve, but it doesn't seem that way." He pulled his axe up ready for attack again.

Suddenly, a fragment of the priestess' face broke off like glass, revealing a slightly tanner layer of skin below. "What…" Kakashi was unable to speak, more of he didn't comprehend what was going on at all.

The priestess' eyes shot open, more fragments broke off from her face, until her whole body was revealed. She had turned into a completely different person. Instead of her usual straight long black hair, it turned light blue. Her black eyes turned blue. Kakashi's eyes widened at the sight of the newly transformed priestess. "Impossible… how can this be?"

Mashiro was amused. He stared at the blue-haired girl standing in front of him. "Now this just got so much more interesting than it already is!"

With that, he began running towards her at his usual speed, swinging his axe in front of him. Just as he thought that he had hit the priestess, she disappeared. She appeared in front of Kakashi, helping him up. "What is the meaning of this?"

The priestess stayed silent as she helped him up. She then went close to him and whispered in his ear. "I'm really sorry about this, I'll explain later when I have time."

Kakashi glared at her. "Does that mean that all these years, have been a lie?" The priestess stayed silent. "Answer me! Yuuri!"

Mashiro's eyes twitched at the name. "I said, I will explain everything later!" The priestess- now known as Yuuri, turned around and faced Mashiro.

"I see… your name is Yuuri. Combining that with the colour of your hair and eyes… If I'm not mistaken, you are Yuuri from the Kawate clan. Shouldn't you be dead three years ago?" Mashiro gripped his axe a little tighter. Kaori gasped at the mention of "Kawate Yuuri".

Yuuri took Kakashi's kunais and spun it around with her fingers. "Dead? I'm very much alive. Thanks for your concern. And… Mashiro-kun, didn't I teach you not to mess with me a few years back?" With that, she gripped the kunai and charged towards Mashiro.

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When all hope is gone during battle, the priestess reveals her true identity to save them. But Kakashi doesn't seem to want her there. Tune in for the next chapter!!

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A/N: Yuuri?? Who's Yuuri??? Okay... from the previous chapters she was already in the story, but only appearing in Kakashi's dreams. If you want to know more about her, you can refer back to my previous fanfic "New Friend", which has almost EVERYTHING you would want to know about her :D. Thanks again for reading my fanfic, hope you enjoyed it so far and please gimme reviews so I can further improve my work!!


	6. Lie

**CHAPTER 6 – Lie**

She undressed herself, pulling the blooded kimono off her shoulders. It revealed a ninja-like outfit under, but only with a tube-top and a short skirt. "What are you doing?"

"What? Don't expect me to fight in such a tight kimono!" Yuuri stared at Mashiro. For awhile, he just stared back at her as she threw her kimono aside. She gripped Kakashi's kunais and charged.

"Charging at me like that won't get you anywhere!" Mashiro swung his axe sideways, attempting to slash Yuuri in half.

Yuuri grinned. "Since when did I ask you to teach me how to fight?" She dodged the incoming axe with ease as she brought her leg up and kicked Mashiro's chest. He was pushed back a few feet and lost his balance. Yuuri saw her chance- she held her hands together and smashed it down on his head, sending it crashing down onto the ground. She backed off a few steps after that as she watched Mashiro grunted and pushed himself off the ground.

"That hurt like hell." Mashiro rubbed his head. Once the pain had eased, he refocused on Yuuri, who was standing in front of Kakashi.

"I hit him that hard and there is still no severe damages on his head…" Yuuri bit her lip. "If I don't finish this quickly, Asuma's going to come and more people are going to find out about this." She looked at her hand. "But then again, with my chakra levels like this… what can I possibly do?" Thoughts raced through her head as she tried to find the best strategy to get herself out of this mess. She looked around her, until her vision fell upon Kakashi.

"You don't have time to look away!" Mashiro was up and ready again.

An idea shot through Yuuri's head. "I'll have to bet it on this then." Mashiro's stabbed towards Yuuri, she dodged and jumped behind him. He threw his axe up and caught it with his other hand, swinging it down with all his strength. Yuuri moved slightly, the axe had only missed her by a bit. She quickly formed seals with her hands. "Raikiri!" Punching her hand into his chest, Mashiro's actions froze in its paths. She increased her chakra as the lightning blade cut through most of Mashiro's organs. "Just a bit more…" She increased it. Suddenly, blood spurted out from his back. It also sent him flying back towards a tree near Kakashi. She stared at her hand, which was now soaked with blood. "Maybe I overdid it a little…"

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Yuuri turned around at the hearing of the voice. It was Asuma and the other genins. "Damn it!" She quickly looked around and looked for her kimono. It was at least ten metres away from her. "Great…"

"Oi, Kakashi-" Asuma stopped when he noticed a certain blue-haired girl looking around anxiously. "That can't be…"

The group arrived at the spot, amazingly it was empty. "Weird, I thought I saw some people here." Sakura looked around.

Behind a tree no too far from them, stood Kakashi, covering both Kaori and Yuuri's mouths. "Kaori-san, please go back to the camp and find some new clothes for… the priestess." Kaori nodded and headed off.

Meanwhile, the Konoha shinobis were investigating the scene as they saw a lot of bloodstains on the ground and two dead bodies. Ino spotted the blooded kimono lying on the ground. She picked it up and handed it to Asuma. Asuma rubbed his beard. "This is bad. The priestess can be in serious danger right now."

"Asuma-sensei, what are we going to do then?" Sakura looked around worryingly. Her inner self was panicking at the mess. "SHANAROOOUU!!! Tsunade-sama is going kill us all for failing this mission!!"

Shikamaru frowned. "We shouldn't have let our guards down. Asuma, we should contact-"

"The priestess is fine."

All of the shinobis' gazes looked at the same direction of which the voice came from. Kakashi stepped out from behind the tree, behind him followed Yuuri- who was now in the priestess' form again. Kaori came out last.

"Miko-sama, if you're fine then…" Ino looked from the kimono she was holding to the two dead men laying around them.

"I was just taking a walk near the lake when these people attacked me. It was thanks to Kaori and Kakashi who saved me." The priestess explained. "My kimono was stained with blood, so I asked Kaori to get some new ones for me to change."

Shikamaru looked at Asuma. "Well, if the priestess says so. We should hurry back to the camp."

"Rena-sama, please do." The priestess looked at her bodyguard, who was bowing down at her. She nodded and followed the group back to the camp.

Kakashi and Asuma stayed behind to clean up the mess. Asuma examined Mashiro's wound. "Oi Kakashi."

Kakashi turned around to face Asuma. "Hmm?"

"Since when did you have so much chakra?"

Kakashi blinked and turned around again. "Things happen."

"Oh." The two cleaned up the bodies and went back to the camp not long afterwards.

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It was noon and the group had finally reached the gates of Konoha. Izumo and Kotetsu were sitting at the counter next to the gate as usual, yawning and stretching. Izumo nudged Kotetsu when he noticed them. "Oo, Kakashi, Asuma! Finished your mission?"

"Ah…" Asuma nodded at the two guards.

Their eyes quickly left Asuma and to the priestess who stepped out of her carriage. "I would like to see the Hokage of Konoha as soon as possible."

Izumo and Kotetsu's eyes shined at those words. Izumo quickly ran in front of the priestess. "I can take you to her."

"I can do it!" Kotetsu stared at Izumo.

"I don't really care who does it, I just need to see her." The priestess looked at the shinobis around her.

"I'll do it." Kakashi stepped forward. Izumo and Kotetsu groaned. "There's also something I want to clarify with her." He said as he eyed the priestess.

Kakashi began leading the way as the priestess followed, bringing Kaori with her.

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"Kaori, can you wait here?" The priestess turned around just before she entered the Hokage's building.

Kaori stared at the priestess. "I'll wait for you outside."

The priestess nodded and allowed Kakashi to take her up to the Hokage's office. Kakashi knocked on the door.

"Come in!" He opened the door, Tsunade was reviewing some documents on her desk. As soon as she noticed the priestess standing behind Kakashi, she stood up to greet her. After the greetings, Tsunade offered a seat for the priestess. "What a rare occasion for the water country's priestess to visit us! Are you sure the federal lord won't get mad at this?"

"Get mad for what?" The priestess looked confused.

"For visiting us, since you're from the water country."

"That was just a name being forced onto me. Nothing else. I am no priestess of any country. I do not belong to any country." There was not much emotion in her voice.

Tsunade nodded. "So, if you would mind leaving us for now, Kakashi?"

Kakashi tensed his eyebrows, and stared at the priestess. The priestess looked back and frowned. "Just leave him. He knows already."

"So that's how it is." Tsunade frowned.

"Knows?" Shizune looked at Tsunade. "Tsunade-sama, what is the priestess talking about?"

Tsunade handed a file to Shizune as she scanned it through. Shizune gasped. "So… you are…" The priestess canceled her transformation technique, revealing the face of Yuuri once again. "But then, is it possible for someone to continue using the transformation technique for so long?"

"The technique I use isn't a transformation technique. I usually use a barrier which seals in my chakra and hides my real face. Well, something happened on my way to Konoha so I had to use the transformation technique." Yuuri frowned.

"So, what brings you back to Konoha after such a long period of time?"

Yuuri leaned forward. "The fact is, the Mizukage of the hidden mist have heard about Orochimaru's attack on the village. They are planning an attack on Konoha since your military forces are weakened."

Shizune gasped. "That is just…"

"What about you? Can't you stop them? Last I've heard you still hold some power in the country." Tsunade sat back in her chair.

Yuuri nodded. "I've tried, but it wasn't much use. The federal lord refused to listen to me anymore. All he thinks is about starting a war." She frowned. "I told him that I would leave if he didn't take my advice. I would want to see how he reacts after this trip to Konoha."

Tsunade tapped her heels on the floor. "I see. Thanks for telling us. Just to let you know, you can come back to the village anytime you want."

Yuuri smiled before she reverted back to the priestess' form. She left the room and went down to meet Kaori. Kakashi was leaning against the wall the whole time. "Kakashi, what do you plan on doing now then?"

Kakashi looked at Tsunade. "I don't know. All I know that I have been living a lie all these years."

"Oh…" Tsunade frowned as Kakashi left the room as well.

Shizune held Tonton in her arms. "Tsunade-sama…"

"Let them." Shizune nodded as she helped Tsunade back with her paper works.

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Kakashi learns the truth behind the lie that he had been told for the last three years. How will he deal with it? Tune in for the next chapter.

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A/N: Well well, Kakashi found out the horrible truth . Nothing really much happening in this chapter, but we're gonna get some real smooches in the next :D. WHEEEE!! Thanks for reading my fanfic again, hope you enjoyed it so far and please gimme reviews!!


	7. My Love to You

**CHAPTER 7 – My love to you**

It was late afternoon. After the priestess- Yuuri to be more exact, met up with Tsunade, she walked with Kaori down the empty streets of Konoha. Yuuri was still in the form of the priestess, she suddenly stopped and turned towards Kaori. "Kaori, I think it's okay now for you to leave, since I'm not really a priestess after all." Yuuri smiled at Kaori.

"But Rena-sama…"

"I'm so sorry that I lied to you all these years." Yuuri looked into Kaori's eyes.

Kaori grabbed Yuuri's shoulders with both of her hands. "But, Rena-sama! You have helped the water country so much! How can we ever manage without you?" Kaori gasped and let go of Yuuri. "Sorry, forgive me for my rudeness, Rena-sama."

"It's okay." Yuuri smiled. "You can drop the politeness, I'm just an ordinary shinobi."

"Rena-sama…"

"But it is true that I can't go back to how I was before as the priestess." Yuuri began but she was quickly interrupted by Kaori, with a very anxious face.

"Rena-sama, that is not true! I mean, can't you just make that barrier which conceals your chakra and transform into the priestess'-"

"Yes, indeed I can." Yuuri stopped Kaori. "But I doubt that those shinobis were just wandering ones."

Kaori was deeply confused. "What does that mean?"

"Most likely, those shinobis was sent by someone in the water country, someone who wants me dead."

Kaori gasped. "It can't be! The senators!"

Yuuri nodded. "And I undid the barrier cast around my body that concealed my chakra all these years, my original appearance was also revealed. I doubt that no one would find out about this and report to them."

"But… why would they want to kill Rena-sama?"

"It's quite clear that I have hindered their plans to start a war. The federal Lord only shook that idea away since I managed to convince him." Yuuri looked hopelessly at Kaori. "You do understand now I am quite powerless in this situation."

Kaori avoided Yuuri's eyes and stared at the ground. "I suppose…"

Suddenly, a black figure landed between Yuuri and Kaori. An arm came up and grabbed Yuuri by the waist. The black figure quickly disappeared after that. The movements were too fast for Kaori to trace, she had completely lost sight of Yuuri already. She grunted, and hopped onto the top of the building beside her, hoping to find where Yuuri was.

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-----

The black figure jumped from building to building, holding Yuuri by the waist. From the body shape of her kidnapper, Yuuri determined that it was a male shinobi. She stayed silent and let him take her to wherever it was going. Soon, they landed on a certain block. The black-figured shinobi slid down the wall, opened the window and hopped into the apartment.

"To be honest, you do a very bad job in kidnapping." Yuuri stared at the black-clothed shinobi unmasking his face.

"Are you even supposed to say that when you're kidnapped?" He unmasked his face, revealing his spiky white hair- none other than the copy ninja- Kakashi. He frowned. "Shouldn't you look more surprised?"

"I was never good at showing emotions." Yuuri replied bluntly. "Plus, that outfit doesn't match you at all."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow at her. He went down to his drawer and pulled out some clothes. Yuuri focused on Kakashi. "What do you think you're doing?" It was obviously weird for your kidnapper to suddenly start stripping in front of you.

"What do you think?" Kakashi stared at Yuuri, who was glaring at his half-naked body from the floor. "I'm changing." Yuuri raised an eyebrow. Kakashi pointed at the black outfit he had just worn to "kidnap" Yuuri. "It was burning in there." He quickly added before any wrong thoughts managed to make its way into Yuuri's mind.

"There's something called a toilet, if you don't know." Yuuri leaned back against the wall.

Kakashi pulled his usual sleeveless shirt over his head. "I've been living alone for almost three years now." Yuuri stayed silent at the comment. Kakashi sat on his bed facing Yuuri once he had finished clothing himself.

"Why did you take me here?" Yuuri asked without lifting her gaze off the floor.

Kakashi stared at Yuuri. "I want to talk. But first, can you undo that transformation? I want to talk to your real face." Yuuri did as she was told and undid her transformation, revealing her blue hair and blue eyes. Kakashi smiled. "Well, let's hear some explanations now."

Yuuri took a deep breath and started explaining to Kakashi. She explained how Sandaime Hokage gave her a mission as a spy in the water country, reporting any sudden movements that would cause Konoha or the fire country harm. The mission was suppose to be long and ongoing one, and she wouldn't have known about the third Hokage's death if she hadn't decided to pay Konoha a visit.

"So… you would never have come back if it wasn't for this visit?" Yuuri nodded. "Well… I might have to thank the water country for making the decision of invading Konoha." Kakashi chuckled.

"Who would want that?" Yuuri was confused.

Kakashi leaned forwards, and smiled. "At least it made you come back." Yuuri frowned and looked out the window. They both fell silent for awhile. "You still haven't told me how you survived back then."

Yuuri stayed silent. "I… don't want to talk about it."

Kakashi stared at her, hoping that she would eventually say something. When she didn't, he frowned and ran his hand through his shaggy hair. "So… I guess that's about it for the explanations." Kakashi headed towards the kitchen, Yuuri just watched a leaf being blown away outside the window. "Want something to drink?" Kakashi's hand reached out from the kitchen.

"I'm not thirsty." Yuuri stood up with that response.

She sat on the bed, and ran her hands over the bed sheets. A tear seemed to trickle down her face. She lifted her head and moved her eyes from one spot to another around the room. Focusing on small details of the apartment. Then she finally got up, wiped her tears dry with her hands and was about to hop out of the window to make her leave. She was stopped by a hand which stretched out to hold her hand. "Just where do you think you're going?" Without warning, Kakashi jerked her backwards and pinned her against the wall with his body. Leaning close to her face, he whispered into her ear. "I am never letting you go again, I swear." He swung her body onto the bed behind him.

Yuuri fell with a thud. "Kakashi, what are you trying-"

He quickly threw himself over her. "I told you, I'm making you stay here." He started kissing her softly along her neck. Yuuri tried to push him off, but Kakashi's body pushed harder and harder against hers. Eventually, she gave up on trying.

Kakashi's lips slowly made its way to Yuuri's. He pressed down on her lips, soft but forceful at the same time. His hands moved slowly to Yuuri's hips. "If someone finds out, you'll be jailed."

Kakashi stopped. "For what?"

"You do realize you are doing this to a priestess of the water country, do you?" Yuuri looked at Kakashi.

"You will always be my Yuuri." With that, he carried on kissing her on the neck. This time, with his hand making its way to her thigh. He pulled it up slightly, allowing it to rest on his back as he carried on kissing her.

"You idiot." Yuuri held Kakashi, right hand on his hair and left hand grabbing his hip. "At least take off your mask when you're kissing someone."

Kakashi slid his mask off and smiled at Yuuri. He started licking her on the neck as the sun set into the horizons, darkening the room as the couple snuggled themselves in bed.

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Morning came, and a group met together at the gates of Konoha. Yuuri quickly joined them in the form of the priestess. Poor Kaori had been searching all night for her for nothing. Kakashi followed behind. "Are you really going back?"

"I have to. I have things that aren't finished yet." Yuuri looked around at Kakashi. "But this time, I promise I'm going to come back." She said that with a smile on her face. Kakashi returned it with a smile as well.

"Rena-sama, it is time to go." Yuuri nodded and she stepped into her carriage. The ANBU around her signaled the horse to start moving. Kakashi just stood there watching as they walked further and further away from the gates.

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Yuuri gives Kakashi a promise as she leaves Konoha. Will this promise be fulfilled? Or will it just be another lie? Tune in for the next chapter.

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A/N: LOL okay romance kicking into this chapter 8D!! This is not going to develop into some kind of lemon/lime smex fic as it might seem to be heading towards. Raising the rating to T. Thanks again for reading my fanfic again, hope you enjoyed it so far and please gimme reviews :D!!


	8. Welcome Back

**CHAPTER 8 – Welcome back**

Two weeks had passed since that incident. Kakashi rolled over in his bed, facing away from his windows, where the light slowly started shining into the room. His eyes were still closed as his hand went to scratch the back of his head. A delicious fragrant filled the room and found its way into his nose. Kakashi sniffed it. "It smells good…" He rubbed his eyes and sat up. "Mom…"

A frying came smashing down onto his head. Kakashi shielded his head with his hands. That certainly hurt like hell. He slowly lifted his head up. "I'm not old enough to be your mother yet." In front of him was a blue-haired kunoichi, both hands on her hips and a frying pan held in one. "Get up! Breakfast is ready!" She walked out into the kitchen.

Kakashi sat still on his bed. He pinched his leg, making sure that he wasn't dreaming or anything. Yuuri peaked into the room. "What's taking you so long?"

"Nothing. I just didn't think you would really have come back."

Yuuri stared at him. "Well, I guess that little incident on the way here exposed my little secret, so I can't be the priestess anymore. Besides, there's someone that I miss in Konoha…" She trailed off and stared into space. Kakashi's ears twitched at the word "someone". "Anyways, clean yourself up, breakfast's ready."

Kakashi groaned as he picked himself off his bed. "Yare yare…"

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There was a knock on the door outside Tsunade's office. "Come in!" A white-haired jounin entered the room. "Ah, Kakashi I have been waiting for you."

Asuma's team was currently being briefed in the room. "Yo, Kakashi." Kakashi waved back. "What are you…"

Yuuri stepped into the room behind Kakashi. She gave a sly smile when she saw the crowd. "It's been a long time."

Asuma was utterly shocked at the sight of her. "Oh you're back." Tsunade took a sip from her cup.

"Tsunade-sama, what is the meaning of this?" Shizune was as shocked as Asuma.

"Well…" They turned towards Yuuri. "I guess I can say that I was sent on a long mission."

Asuma raised his eyebrows. "So it was you after all in the woods." Yuuri gave a little laugh. "I knew it, Kakashi couldn't have done that to the enemy by himself" He laughed. Kakashi stared at Asuma and gave a cough. "I mean, to my memory Kakashi didn't have that much chakra to create a wound like that."

"It wasn't really my intention on making the wound so big…" Asuma looked at her. "Well, my chakra control isn't the best after all…"

Asuma smiled. "But what happened three years ago? The thing about your death?"

Yuuri bit her lip. "It was to help the mission run more smoothly."

"Oh." Asuma scratched the back of his head. "I don't really get it but… it's good to have you back."

Yuuri smiled. "I just thought I should report to you, Tsunade-sama about my arrival."

Tsunade nodded. "What do you plan on doing now?" Yuuri blinked.

"I have some places I want to visit." She looked at Kakashi. "So I guess we'll get going. If you will excuse us."

Tsunade nodded as Kakashi opened the door. Yuuri walked out with Kakashi behind her. "Congratulations." Kakashi heard a little whisper. He turned around and found Asuma smiling at him. He returned it with a smile.

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The two stood in front of the cenotaph. Yuuri slowly lay down some flowers in front of it. "A lot of things happened when I was gone."

Kakashi looked at her. "Ah."

They stood in silence as the wind blew heavily behind them. "Well, I'm hungry."

He was surprised on the way she broke the silence. "Where do you want to eat then?"

"Hmm… Ichiraku Ramen!"

"Who's going to-"

"Your treat." Yuuri stared at Kakashi.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Fine."

Yuuri giggled and followed Kakashi to the restaurant.

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It was nighttime already. The streets were almost empty. Two Konoha shinobis walked silently down the path. "Funny. It's too quiet." The kunoichi commented. Kakashi stayed silent as he focused on his favourite orange book in his hand. "Is that really _that_ interesting?"

"Mmm…" She stared at him and frowned. That was hardly an answer. The two carried on walking down the street. "We're here."

"Huh?" Yuuri turned around as Kakashi finally put his book away and knocked on a door. "What do you mean?"

"You'll find out."

The door opened and out popped the head of Asuma. "Kakashi! Yuuri! We've been waiting for you!"

Yuuri looked confused. "Come on in." She followed Kakashi's lead into the house. She was surprised with the amount of people that managed to fit in the small house. "Yuuri, this is a… little welcome back party we decided to make for you."

Yuuri can't help but smile. "That's really sweet, thanks." She was quickly surrounded by other shinobis in the room. Some questioning on how she survived back then, others questioned her on the mission she was given. Kakashi managed to pull her out from the crowd and brought her to the roof. He let her enjoy the fresh air for awhile. "It's been a long time since I was in a crowd. Life as a priestess is kind of boring." She chuckled.

Suddenly, she felt an arm wrap around her waist and pulled her around. It was Kakashi. Her body pressed closely against his. She heard him whisper in her ear. "Welcome back."

She smiled. "Thank you, Kakashi. Thank you…" She wrapped her own arms around his waist, closed her eyes and pushed her face against his shoulder. "You idiot…" She smiled as she held him tighter.

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A/N: Oh my god! O___O I finally finished this story :D!! Been a bit lazy and stuff came up. Thanks to all of you who read it and I hope you enjoyed it. Please write me some reviews and critiques so I can further improve my work. xD!!


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